V. I. Lenin

Plan for a PamphletThe European War and European Socialism{7}

T h e E u r o p e a n W a r a n d European Socialism

Written:Written in September–October 1914Published:First published in 1930 inLenin Miscellany XIV.

      Printed from the original.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1977,

      Moscow,Volume 41,

      pages337.2-344.1.Translated:Yuri SdobnikovTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaCopyleft:V. I. Lenin Internet Archive (www.marxists.org)
      © 2004

      Permission is granted to copy and/or distribute this document under the
      terms of theGNU Free Documentation License.

{1}“Fatherland.”—Ed.

{2}Hypothetically.—Ed.

{3}“Faint-hearted friends.”—Ed.

{4}“Way to power.”—Ed.

{5}People’s War.—Ed.

{6}“Sacrificing one’s life,”—Ed.

{7}Lenin began work on the pamphlet soon after his arrival in Berne. He
collected extensive material but the pamphlet was not written. He used some
of the preparatory material in his lectures, articles published inSotsial-Demokrat, and in the pamphletSocialism and
War. This is the fullest plan of the pamphlet, all the preparatory
material being given inLenin Miscellany XIV, pp. 14–123.

p. 337

{8}A reference to Victor Adler’s speech in the International Social in
Bureau in Brussels on July 29, 1914. Lenin deals with it in his “Dead
Chauvinism and Living Socialism”

(see present edition, Vol. 21, pp. 94–101).

p. 338

{9}A reference to the book by Jean Jaurès,L’organisation
socialiste de la France. L’Armée nouvelle(Socialist
Organisation in France. New Army), published in Paris in 1911.

p. 338

{10}A reference to Hermann Wendel’s article “Juarès” published inDie Neue ZeitNo. 19 of August 21, 1914.

p. 338

{11}A quotation from Karl Kautsky’s article “Die Sozialdemokratie im
Krieg” (Social-Democracy in Wartime) published in No. 1 ofDie Neue
Zeitof October 2, 1914. Lenin criticised the article in “Dead
Chauvinism and Living Socialism”

(see present edition, Vol. 21, pp. 94–101).

p. 339

{12}A reference to Hermann Wendel’s article “Europa in Feuersgefahr”
(Europe Threatened with Conflagration), carried in No. 18 ofDie Neue
Zeitof July 31, 1914. There are extracts from the article with
Lenin’s remarks inLenin Miscellany XIV, pp. 47–49.

p. 339

{13}A reference to the article “Ultimatum” published in No. 200ofVorw\"artson July 25, 1914; the note “Verdechtige
Tiranent\"oter!” (Suspicious Tyrant Killers!) published in the supplement
to No. 174 ofLeipziger Volkszeitungon July 31, 1914, and the
article “Der Kampf gegen den Zarismus” (The Struggle Against Tsarism)
published in No. 209 ofVorw\"artson August 3, 1914.

p. 339

{14}A reference to R. Fischer’s article “Vandalen” (Vandals) published in
No. 206 ofVolksrechton September 5, 1914. Lenin’s extracts from
the article are inLenin Miscellany XIV, p. 61.

p. 339

{15}Upon the outbreak of war, some members of the Committee of the
R.S.D.L.P. Organisations Abroad, which had its seat in Paris, and some
members of the Bolshevik section in Paris—N. I. Sapozhkov (Kuznetsov) and
A. V. Britman (Antonov), among others—joined the Mensheviks and S.R.s in
adopting a declaration on behalf of “Russian republicans”, which they
published in the French press, and went to the
front.L’Humanitéalso carried a statement by Polish
Social-Democratic volunteers.

p. 339

{16}No. 9 ofGoloson September 22, 1914, carried the text of a
social-chauvinist declaration by Polish socialists signed by Leder, Kon,
Sehnenbaum and others.

p. 339

{17}Sovremennoye Slovo(Contemporary Word)—a daily published by
the Cadets in St. Petersburg from 1907 to 1918. The reference here is to
Lenin’s extracts from the item “G. V. Plekhanov about the War” in
No. 2374 ofSovremennoye Slovoon August 23 (September 5), 1914
(seeLenin Miscellany XIV, p. 114).

p. 339

{18}A reference to the “Press Review” section in No. 3 ofGoloson September 15, 1914, containing an extract from Ghesquière’s
social-chauvinist article “Notre devoir” (Our Duty) published in No. 3802
ofL’Humanitéon September 14, 1914. It tried to justify
the social-chauvinist policy of the leadership of the French Socialist
Party in the imperialist war and its abandonment of the class struggle, and
stated that the French socialists would do their socialist duty when the
war was over. TheGoloseditors appended an editorial note
confirming thatVorw\"artsand G. V. Plekhanov took the same
attitude.

p. 339

{19}A reference to the article by Y. Smirnov (Gurevich), “The War and
European Democracy”, published in No. 202 ofRusskiye Vedomostion September 3 (16), 1914, and P. Maslov’s letter to the editor of the
paper, published under the caption “The War and Trade Agreements” in
No. 207 of the paper on September 10 (23), 1914.

p. 339

{20}A reference toEdouardVaillant’s article
“Formalistes doctrinaires” (Doctrinaire Formalists), written in reply to
the letters he received from socialists criticising his social-chauvinist
stand. It was run as an editorial in No. 3827 ofL’Humanitéon October 9, 1914. Lenin’s extracts from it are inLenin Miscellany
XIV, p. 97.

p. 340

{21}A reference to Compère-Morel’s article “Les commissaires
à la nation” (People’s Commissars) published in No. 3788 ofL’Humanitéon August 31, 1914. Lenin’s extracts from the article are inLenin
Miscellany XIV, p. 67.

p. 340

{22}A reference to Gustave Hervé’s articles vindicating the alliance
between republican France and tsarist Russia. He said that France could not
do without an alliance with the tsar in the war, and that tsarism was
allegedly improving under the influence of democratic Britain and
democratic Italy.

p. 340

{23}H. M. Hyndman had come out in open defence of imperialism even before
the war, and had been sharply criticised by the German Social-Democrats and
their organDie Neue Zeit.

p. 340

{24}A reference to the social-chauvinist declaration issued by the
Social-Democratic group and read out by the Socialist H. Haase in the
Reichstag on August 4, 1914, during the voting of the war credits.

p. 340

{25}A reference to Eduard Bernstein’s article “Abrechnung mit Russland”
(Squaring Accounts with Russia) published in No. 232 ofVorw\"artson August 26, 1914. Quoting Engels’sSavoyen, Nizza und der Rhein(Savoy, Nice and the Rhine), which spoke of the threat of a Franco-Russian
alliance for Germany, out of context, Bernstein tried to justify the
opportunist policy of the German Social-Democratic leaders in the
imperialist war. Lenin’s extracts from Engels’s work are inLenin
Miscellany XIV, pp. 41–43.

p. 340

{26}A reference to Engels’s “Der Sozialismus in Deutschland” (Socialism
in Germany) published in No. 19 ofDie Neue Zeit, Vol. 1,
1891–92, which the German social-chauvinists tried to use to vindicate
their opportunist stand in the imperialist war.

p. 340

{27}A reference to Franz Mehring’s protest, which exposed the attempts on
the part of German social-chauvinists to justify their opportunist policy
in the imperialist war by references to Engels.

p. 340

{28}No. 211 ofHamburger Echoon September 10, 1914, carried an
article “Eine notwendige Erkl\"arung” (A Necessary Explanation), which
distorted Engels’s article “Der Sozialismus in Deutschland” in order to
justify the social-chauvinist stand of the German Social-Democratic
leadership. For Lenin’s extracts from the newspaper seeLenin
Miscellany XIV, p. 67.

No. 249ofVorw\"artson September 12, 1914, carried an
article “Die Auffassung der italienischen Sozialisten” (The Standpoint of
the Italian Socialists).

p. 340

{29}A reference to the article by the German social-chauvinist R. Fischer,
“Vandalen” (Vandals), which was published in No. 206 ofVolksrechton September 5, 1914, and the reply to him—“Letter
from a German Socialist”, which was apparently intended for publication inBerner Tagwacht. There are extracts from the letter made by Lenin,
with this note in the margin: “((pp. 1–7)) (typewritten, to the editors
ofBerner Tagwacht)” (seeLenin Miscellany XIV,pp. 61–63). But the letter was not published in the newspaper. Extracts
from it were published in a leading, article “Die Sozialdemokratie und der
Krieg” (Social-Democracy and the War) inGr\"utlianerNos. 213
and 214 on September 13 and 14, 1914.

p. 340

{30}A quotation from an article by Joseph Bloch, “Der Krieg und
Sozialdemokratie” (The War and Social-Democracy), which was published in
No. 16 ofSozialistische Monatshefte.

p. 340

{31}No. 12 ofGoloson September 25, 1914, carried an item “Press
Review” containing a summary of Karl Liebknecht’s letter, which was
published inBremer B\"urger-Zeitungand dealt with the
Social-Democratic voting of the war credits in the Reichstag.

p. 340

{32}A reference to the protest issued by the Left-wing Social-Democrats and
published in No. 214 ofBremer B\"urger-Zeitungon September 14,
1914, and to the article “Parteipflichten” (Party Duties) published in
the Social-Democratic paperVolksblattNo. 220 of September 19,
1914. They voiced protests against the social-chauvinist policy of the
German Social-Democratic leadership, declared that not all Social-Democrats
shared the leadership’s opinion, and emphasised a desire for international
solidarity.

BremerB\"urger-Zeitung—a Social-Democratic daily published
in Bremen from 1890 to 1919; until 1916 it was under the influence of
Bremen Left-wing Social-Democrats, but then passed into the hands of
social-chauvinists.

p. 341

{33}A reference to the stand taken by the German Social-Democratic
newspaperVolksblatt, which was published in Halle. It criticised
the social-chauvinist stand of the German Social-Democratic leadership and
urged international solidarity.

p. 341

{34}A reference to the article “Die Zertr\"ummerte Internationale”
(Destroyed International) published in No. 211 ofBremer Burger
Zeitungon September 10, 1914. Lenin’s extracts from the newspaper are
inLenin Miscellany XIV, p. 83.

p. 341

{35}Volksrecht—a daily, the organ of the Social-Democratic Party
of Switzerland, published in Zurich since 1898. During the First World War
(1914–18), the paper carried articles by Left-wing Social-Democrats. It
published Lenin’s articles: “Twelve Brief Theses on H. Greulich’s Defence
of Fatherland”, “The Tasks of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party
in the Russian Revolution”, “Tricks of the Republican Chauvinists” and
others.

Leninis referring to the article “Zwei Internationalen” (Two
Internationals) published in No. 211 ofVolksrechton
September 11, 1914. Lenin’s extracts from the article are inLenin
Miscellany XIV, p. 58.

p. 341

{36}A reference to the manifesto issued by the French and Belgian
delegations in the I.S.B. to the German people. It was carried in No. 3794
ofL’Humanitéon September 6, 1914, and accused the German
Government of aggressive designs, and the German soldiers, of atrocities on
occupied territory. The Executive of the German Social-Democratic Party
published a protest against themanifesto in No. 247 ofVorw\"artson September 10. There followed
a press polemic between the French and German social-chauvinists, with both
sides trying to justify their government’s part in the war and putting the
blame on the other governments.

p. 341

{37}A reference to L. Martov’s letter to G. Hervé, which was
published in No. 12 ofGoloson September 25, 1914.

p. 341

{38}A reference to Ivan Krylov’s fable of the same name, which describes a
cuckoo and a cock singing each other’s praises.

p. 341

{39}A reference to the trip by a leader of the German Social-Democratic
Party, the rabid social-chauvinist A. S\"udekum, to Italy, on assignment
from the Party’s Executive. A record of his talk with the Italian
socialists was printed inAvanti!, and then reprinted in various
socialist newspapers. In Russian, it appeared in the MenshevikNasha
ZaryaNos. 7–8--9 for 1914.

p. 341

{40}A reference to the conference of Left-wing Social-Democrats held on
Lenin’s initiative during the Copenhagen Congress. In his plan for the
pamphletThe European War and European Socialism, Lenin gives a
list of those who attended: Jules Guesde and Charles Rappoport from France;
Louis de Brouckère from Belgium; Rosa Luxemburg and Emanuel Wurm
from Germany; Julian Marchlewski (Karski) from Poland; Pablo Iglesias from
Spain; Adolf Braun from Austria; Lenin, Plekhanov and others from Russia
(seeLenin Miscellany XIV, p. 22).

p. 341

{41}The resolution “The Tasks of Revolutionary Social-Democracy in the
European War”, adopted on Lenin’s report on the attitude to the war made
at a Bolshevik conference in Berne on September 6, 1914. It is known as
“Theses on War”, and was the first document to define the attitude of the
Bolshevik Party and international revolutionary Social-Democracy to the
imperialist world war. Lenin’s theses were discussed in detail and adopted
as the resolution of the conference. Signed “Group of Social-Democrats,
Members of the R.S.D.L.P.”, they were circulated to various Bolshevik
sections abroad. For reasons of secrecy, Lenin made the following
inscription on a copy in Krupskaya’s hand: “Copy of the manifesto issued
in Denmark”.

p. 341

{42}Charles Philips Trevelyan, parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of
Education, said in an open letter to his electors that in the imperialist
war the interests of one’s nation were paramount and that these interests
demanded peace.

p. 342

{43}No. 254 ofFrankfurter Zeitungon September 13, 1914, carried
an article by Franz Oppenheimer, “Neue Rom und neue Karfageno” (The New
Rome and the New Carthage). Lenin’s extracts from the article are inLenin Miscellany XIV, p. 85.

FrankfurterZeitung—a daily, organ of big German
stockbrokers, published in Frankfort on the Main from 1856 to 1943; resumed
publication in 1949 under the nameFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung;
a mouthpiece of the West-German monopolists.

p. 342

{44}Russkoye Znamya(Russian Banner)—a Black-hundred newspaper,
organ of the Union of the Russian People, published in St. Petersburg from
1905 to 1917.

HereLenin refers to an editorial in its No. 105 of August 30, 1914,
which spoke of the leaflets of the St. Petersburg Committee of the
R.S.D.L.P.

p. 342

{45}A reference to Karl Kautsky’s article “Prospects for Peace”, extracts
from which were published inGolosNos. 18 and 19 on October 2 and
3, 1914.

p. 342

{46}A reference to an item “W. C. Modell 70” carried in No. 227 ofVorw\"artson August 21, 1914.

p. 342

{47}A possible reference to the 42-cm. guns made in Germany by Krupp and
first used in the war of 1914–18.

p. 343

{48}Kreuz-Zeitung—popular name for an ultra-reactionary German
daily,Neue Preussische Zeitung, which had a cross on its
masthead. The paper was the organ of German conservatives and was published
in Berlin from 1848 to 1939. From 1911 on it was calledNoise
Preussische(Kreuz)Zeitung, and from
1932—Kreuz-Zeitung.

p. 343

{49}A reference to “Press Review” in No. 14 ofGoloson
September 27, 1914, which commented on the stand of the English socialists
and gave extracts from articles by Keir Hardie and MacDonald. It said that
MacDonald “revealed too much pessimism in assessing the consequences of
the current war”.

p. 343

{50}A reference to the article “Silence, Eunuchs!”  published as an
editorial in No. 21 ofGoloson October 6, 1914, which said that
the German Social-Democrats would have compromised themselves if, in the
conditions of Germany pressed by the Russian troops, they were to “issue a
call for a revolutionary Commune”, and that this would have isolated them
from the broad masses.

p. 344